The cost to the economy is estimated to have been some £302 million, the research showed.

Of those calling in sick on Tuesday, 275,000 blamed a cold, cough or flu for their absence, at a cost of £45 million, and 12 per cent up on last year.

The figures were collated by First Care, an outsourcing firm used by major companies such as Coca-Cola and British Gas to manage their workers' absences. It has extrapolated the national figure from its database of 100,000 workers.

A total of 1.83 million workers were absent across the whole of Britain, about 6.3 per cent of the total country's workforce. This was 535,000 less than last year, when 2.36 million people decided not to return to work.

The average across the year is 1.58 million off sick, which increases to about 1.7 million during winter.

First Care said the significant fall was because this time a year ago the serious bout of snow, which paralysed part of the country. Aaron Ross, the company's chief executive, added that levels of absence on Tuesdays, after a Bank Holiday, were far lower than on Mondays.

Last year, the first day after the New Year holiday was a Monday.

While overall absence was down on last year, there was a significant jump in those saying they were suffering from coughs, colds and flu. Not only was the figure of 275,000 an increase of 12 per cent on last year, it was also a 20 per cent increase on the long-term average of 225,000 off for coughs, colds and flue at this time of year.

Sickness rates among NHS staff – Britain's biggest employer with more than a million employees – were higher than other sectors, forcing more money to spent on hiring agency staff to cover those who are absent.

For every five men off with a cold or flu there are eight women – indicating that more contact with children and being run down by chores has left them more susceptible to the virus.

Mr Ross said: "There is a higher absence rates among females than males with cold, cough and flu.

"This could be that women have more face to face time with children who go to primary or nursery schools – environments where a virus can easily be passed around."

He added that women tended to report in sick sooner than men, either because they needed to stay at home to look after children or they "possibly were better at ensuring they looked after themselves". This means that a jump in women calling in sick usually presages an overall increase in absence.

"Women are the barometer," Mr Ross added.

Overall cases of flu increased by almost 50 per cent in the week to Boxing Day, meaning there are now 124 people with symptoms per 100,000.

The data from the Royal College of GPs shows that the last time seasonal flu cases were this high was in the 1999/2000 flu epidemic when an estimated 22,000 people died.

A flu epidemic is declared when the number of GP consultations about symptoms reaches 200 per 100,000.

Coughs, colds and flu was the main reason for absence, followed by stomach bugs, followed by muscular or skeletal strains or breakages.

Mr Ross said: "The NHS has to replace up to 40 per cent of their front line staff with agency staff – so the cost of absence is three or four times that of the direct cost."

The costs listed are 'direct' costs – the cost of an employee's salary plus the cost to replace them on the day they are absent.